Slight hawk 250 regret

[shanesaw]

So I'm not super excited about my hawk 250 purchase yet...I received it on Monday. Assembled it by Tuesday. Took it for a putt up the road and experienced catastrophic failure. The studs for the sprocket came right out of the hub while riding, locked up the wheel and caused damage to several parts of the bike.

I've contacted TX Powersports (purchased from them) via phone and email. As of now still waiting for a reasonable response from them. The last email I got from them said "the rim is still work" and they offered to send me a bolt and clamps...

I actually really like the hawk and hope I can get this resolved. I never even had a chance to install the mods I purchased!

I will keep this updated.

[Megadan]

Don't take this as me being mean to you in any way, but this is a known issue with these bikes.

When you get your new parts in and you go to put it together again...
http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=19265

Go to post 32 and then 42 on page 3. It shows what I came up with as a fix to the problem. Not a difficult or expensive fix either.

It has held up on my bike for 1400 miles now, and worked for a few others as well.

Anyway, it sucks that it happened to you. Glad you weren't hurt, because that could have been a lot worse for you.

[imapdog]

i got a 250 hawk from there last month. i upgraded the rear sprocket before 1st ride. the bolts that held the sprocket onto the wheel seemed very tight to over tightened but not to the point of stripped

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by imapdog

i got a 250 hawk from there last month. i upgraded the rear sprocket before 1st ride. the bolts that held the sprocket onto the wheel seemed very tight to over tightened but not to the point of stripped

The problem isn't how tight the nuts are on the cush drive studs. Go to the link I posted above and watch the very first video. That was my rear wheel and sprocket, never been ridden on at that point, all 4 nuts were tight.

The problem is two fold.

A. The quality of said studs is questionable. They are inconsistently sized and don't fit the bushings in the wheel very well making for loose fitment.

B. The groove for the snap ring that retains the sprocket on the wheel is sometimes just slightly too far out, giving the sprocket room to move in and out.

Combine these two flaws, and you get a sprocket that will move with angularity under load. This movement puts a lot of stress on the studs, which are not made from the best material, and can potentially break them. It also creates the potential for the stud to turn, possibly loosening the nuts securing them to the sprocket.

It was for this reason that I went with OEM Honda studs and good quality stainless steel flanged nuts to secure the sprocket, and then used the thin wave washers as shims to take up the gap between the sprocket and snap ring. My sprocket is held solid by that simple little fix.

[Weldangrind]

My bike was used, so I bought replacement Honda bushings. I have more faith in them than the original China stuff.

[Weldangrind]

I should have mentioned that I bought Honda studs as well.

[Megadan]

For the most part, the bushings in the Hawk hub are fine. It's the fact that the bushing is the proper inner diameter, but the studs are about half a MM smaller than they should be. Honda studs are the right size and fit perfectly.

[china007]

Is this going to be an issue on the Enforcer or the Storm. Thanks for the info and sorry OP that sucks.

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by china007

Is this going to be an issue on the Enforcer or the Storm. Thanks for the info and sorry OP that sucks.

Not too many active members of either bike to know for sure, but there was a very recent post by one Enforcer owner that stated his rear sprocket was loose and the bolts were tight. Here.. http://www.chinariders.net/showthread.php?t=20734

I think it would be a good idea to check the rear sprocket on any of these bikes. It requires slacking the chain, or removing the chain completely (would be best). My sprocket showed no signs of play until I took the rear wheel off as the chain was holding it still with the tension.

[letsride]

MAN!! THAT SUCKS! Glad you didn't get hurt! I'll check my Son's Brozz ASAP! Thanks Dan for finding and posting the fix. I can't get the videos to load on this slow network here at work!

[2LZ]

Originally Posted by china007

Is this going to be an issue on the Enforcer or the Storm.

No clue about the Enforcer. I haven't seen the setup. I have a TT250 and it's a different setup on the rear hub than the Hawk. No complaints from anyone that I know of. on the TT. I don't believe that we've had an Enforcer failure yet....but I'm not around here much these days.
The Storm should be fine. We've had members beat the snot out of them.

[Megadan]

Yeah, the TT250 got around this issue by having the sprocket bolt to the hub directly. Honestly, if I had to replace the rear wheel for any reason, I would likely just spend the money on a complete wheel from CSC for the TT250. The end cost is about the same as replacing a Hawk wheel.

[kirbo7106]

I had the same problem occurring at 31 miles on the Hawk. I got a new rear wheel and did MegaDan’s recommendations. I also replaced the rim strips, inner tubes and tires. I haven’t had a problem since.

Be careful out there!

Dan-O

[Megadan]

Originally Posted by kirbo7106

I had the same problem occurring at 31 miles on the Hawk. I got a new rear wheel and did MegaDan’s recommendations. I also replaced the rim strips, inner tubes and tires. I haven’t had a problem since.

Be careful out there!

Dan-O

Glad to hear another example out there worked out well. It's such a simple thing to check for, especially during assembly, but it is also easily overlooked. I ran into it entirely because I was installing my JT sprocket immediately during assembly, and I only found it because I took the chain off.

[JerryHawk250]

After over 2600 miles I finally changed the stock chain out to a new donated stock chain from Kirbo7106. Chain didn't really stretch but was close enough to being out of tolerance. I inspected the sprockets and bolts for play while I had the chain off. All good. I have the 2016 model. This issue didn't appear until the 2017 models came out. There must of been a change in machining and parts for to 2017's. 2016 seem to have a better quality chain too as some of the other members with the 2016 had the same results. I'll see how the 2017 chain will hold up compared to the 2016 chain. We'll see if it's a chain quality problem or a lack of prep and maintenance problem. It's a good idea to remove, clean and soak the stock chain in gear oil before you even use it.